My Journey started simply … I was tired of being fat and tired! I set out to lose some weight. Actually, LOTS of it. But something amazing and unexpected happened. I started getting HEALTHY too! My pre-diabetes disappeared; my high cholesterol disappeared; I no longer needed blood pressure medication. And at MY age, I frankly didn’t think that was possible! What’s worse, neither did my doctors! We were ALL wrong! And the more my body changed, the more I wanted to know about health and weight loss, about how our food is produced, about the environment and human hunger. After all, if both I and my doctors could be so wrong about MY health, what other things were we wrong about? I’ve learned more than I thought I wanted to know … but I’m so glad I did!

Please understand, I’m no expert on any of this. But what I’ve discovered is that there are plenty of reliable, independent science-based resources out there. And if there’s one lesson I’ve gleaned from this journey, it’s that not everyone begins with the same goals in mind. For some, like me, it’s about losing weight or regaining health; for others it’s compassion for animals; still others see the destruction of our environment, its impact on global warming, and feel compelled to take action; yet others feel the need to help those less fortunate. It’s as though these are spokes on a very diverse wheel, and just like the wheel, all spokes lead to the same hub! IT’S THE FOOD!

C’mon and join me. Your future self will thank you!

Oh, boy! I remember that fateful day at the ripe old age of about 8 when I proudly announced to my mom that I knew there was no such thing as the Easter Bunny. She looked me right in the eye and said “well, you realize that if you don’t believe, the Easter Bunny won’t come around anymore and that means no more baskets or toys or candy”. Then she said “so, do you believe in Santa Clause?” Well, I may have just been 8 years old, but I was certainly capable of critical thought. Didn’t even skip a beat. I responded right away “oh, yes, I still believe!” My mom didn’t raise a fool, you know!

But here’s the thing. We are raised to believe, heck, our parents were raised to believe, many things that simply are not true. There was a time when everyone knew the earth was flat. There was a time when everyone knew the sun revolved around the earth. There was a time when blood letting was the only way to “cure” certain diseases. What those beliefs show us is that sometimes even our most closely held beliefs simply are not true. As the saying goes, the better we know, the better we do!

There’s a part of me that longs for the days of Edward R Murrow and Walter Cronkite, smart people who did a lot of research on the important issues of the day on whom we could rely to give us the “right” information. That era has gone, perhaps, but something newhas taken its place. Today we have crowd-sourcing of information, and while we may be challenged with separating the wheat from the chaff, the fact is we’ve a great many sources of wholesome “wheat” from which to choose!

So, exactly what is it we need to question, and why is it important to question it?

Let’s first talk about the WHY! Let me ask you a question. Is there anyone you know who has or has had heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, asthma, allergies, any diseases of inflammation? Is anyone you know struggling with their weight, perhaps even fighting obesity? And how many of those people are children? There are many credible “whys” out there, but our health, and more importantly, that of our children, is a huge “why” for me and my primary purpose for creating this blog.

And that brings me to WHAT it is that we should at least be asking. If you ask most physicians these days, while the majority of them might say it’s important to eat lots of fruit and vegetables, on only the rarest of occasions will you ever find a doctor who, when you sit down for either a regular checkup, or are in their office because of some acute ailment, ever says “so, tell me about your eating habits.” And if the subject of food even comes up, the most typical issue the doctor raises is to be sure to get enough protein. Let me ask you, is there anyone you know who has suffered from kwashiorkor? I’d never heard of it, but it’s protein deficiency and it comes as a direct result of starvation. Lack of protein is definitely not an issue. So, the big question here is what should we realistically expect from the medical profession, and what can we do to take back control of our own health and well-being. More importantly, how can we best insure the health of our children! Time to separate the illusion from the reality!

So, What Moves You?

There’s an old saying that goes “when we know better, we do better.” There’s just so much more we need to know – and so much better we need to do!

Health

It’s so easy to take health for granted, but predictions today are that children born now are expected to live shorter lives than their parents. Childhood obesity is skyrocketing, as is Type II Diabetes and even cardio-vascular disease in kids! The good news is we have the power to change that trajectory!

Compassion

Before we had independent science on the subject, common wisdom was that we needed to eat animal products to survive. What we “believe” about nutrition is being funded, in great part, by the meat & dairy industries which profit from our consumption. But now we KNOW better…so now we can DO better.

Environment

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children” Author Unknown Nothing says it better. We owe it to our children and future generations to leave the earth they rely on for their survival in better condition than we found it…just as our ancestors have done for us.

Weight

There are entire industries created around the “challenge” of achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. It’s as if Mother Nature somehow, despite getting it RIGHT for all other species of animals, somehow messed up with humans (and the animals who live WITH humans). Mother Nature didn’t fail us … Corporate Interests did!

Economy

With all the talk of ballooning healthcare costs, one simple fact rings loud and clear: We can pay the farmer now, or we can pay the doctor later! We all learned in grade school the famous Hippocrates quote: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. This is not a new concept, just a forgotten one. Time to jog our memories before it’s too late!

Humanity

Animals consume many times more plants than do humans. When we allocate land and foods to animals destined for our plate, that food is no longer available to feed the starving. When we choose meat or dairy instead of, say, veggie chili and fruit, we’re adding to world hunger. Their hunger becomes our choice. Not only CAN we do better … we MUST.